BIG SPRINGS – Big Springs Union Elementary School was on lockdown Thursday morning for a brief period when a man who was unarmed allegedly created a disturbance while intoxicated on school property.

He was detained and booked in the Siskiyou County Jail. According to Jim Pindell, the school’s superintendent/principal, school staff observed the man at 10:35 a.m.

“While we are convinced that our children were in no imminent danger, we followed our established procedures. Staff responded immediately and all students, including those in our pre-school/infant/toddler program, were secured within three minutes. Law enforcement responded within 10 minutes,” Pindell stated.

Law enforcement officials from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) and Lake Shastina Department of Public Safety responded to the scene.

According to the SCSO website, Howell is being held without bail on charges of trespassing at a public business, disorderly conduct for being under the influence of alcohol, failure to appear in court after a written promise and probation violation.

Pindell said the lockdown was lifted at 10:48 p.m.

“I am pleased to report that the response of the children was like any routine drill and the children were minimally disrupted, as they would be with any drill,” Pindell wrote in a message to parents of all the students affected by the incident.

“It is an unfortunate but necessary part of our responsibilities that we are rarely required to take such actions to ensure the safety of all of our students. Our procedures are excellent, but not perfect, and therefore we will continue our occasional drills,” Pindell continued.

He noted that he received a positive response from the SCSO deputies to his request for them to actively participate in a future drill.